To give or not to give… that is the question!!!

One day when I picked up my kid on my way back from work, he said “Mom lets get home, log onto amazon and you can buy me a phone. I feel like talking to you in the day and now I think I should have a phone.” He is all of 5.

The question here is when should we introduce our kids to cell phone. I have been plagued by this question. Are there some set formulas? I have decided that I would buy him a phone at the age of 11. But then again I wonder, will that be too early? Will that be too late?

So I have tried to breakdown the list of pros and cons of giving a cell-phone to my child.

Pros –

• It is convenient to have your child available at the hit of a button – If you want to speak to your child. Just call. That’s it. You would know what they are doing and where they are
• You can check on them while at work, keep track of food and classes – So you can call the child instruct them for homework and keep a check of whether they have eaten or not and stuff (yes, I am ‘that’ mom)
• They can call you whenever they need help – If they need to speak with you about a problem or need help they can instantly call you without having to borrow a phone or find one nearest to them

Cons –

• Exposure to cellphone radiation during development years – although there is no evident that this early exposure to radiation may play foul with the kid’s development, but there are some unsubstantiated studies indicating that the radiation may have an impact
• You may open them up to dangers of outside world – Since you give your child a cell-phone which even if is a basic smart phone. Opens them up to the entire world outside. Unless we implement strict restrictions to the usage and access that may be another danger.
• Cell-phone addiction – A child may get addicted to the cell-phone at an early age, which may influence their social behavior, this apparently is one of my biggest concerns. Right from playing games on the phone to be ‘in-touch’ with friends this all may have behavourial impact

While I still consider whether I should give him the cell-phone earlier or later than what I have decided, please share your stories, when did you give your kid a cell phone or are you a parent that is hounded by the same apprehensions. And did you manage to address any of the many queries that arise in a parent’s mind.